Markel Monday - Straight From the Horse's Mouth

The next time someone asks if they can pet your horse - or even get close to it - you might want to make sure that you're covered. A case in point is when a toddler was bitten on the lower lip by a horse and suffered scarring that required immediate and possibly future surgery. Not surprisingly, legal action ensued. The story goes that a 4-year old girl had approached the horse while it was feeding. From the parent's point of view, the horse owner shouldn't have allowed the child near the animal. However, the owner countered that the parents should have watched the child more closely. The final outcome, which was settled before the case went to trial, came to $120,000. This was in spite of the fact that past and future medical costs were claimed at only $11,000.

This policy provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage only done by a horse which is scheduled on this policy both on and off premises. If applicant is involved in *commercial equine operations*, or if applicant owns more than 10 horses, complete a Commercial Equine Liability application for appropriate coverage.

∗ Commercial Equine Operations: where the applicant is actively involved in the breeding, boarding, training of horses, riding instruction, leasing of horses to others and any activity that receives money or other compensation.

HorsesDaily's Mary Phelps (mary@horsesdaily.com) is a Markel Equine Insurance Specialist and CSR Tracey Scharf (tracey@horsesdaily.com) provide the personal attention needed to help make the lives of their clients smooth and easy when it comes to the process of insuring your Farm, business and equine mortality needs. While Mary travels to the shows and barns, you can count on Tracey in the office to be available to answer questions and manage the details with ease. 1-800-572-3286.